2nd county to end practice prompting victims to waive rights

February 20, 2019

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Another Maryland county will stop having law enforcement officers ask sexual assault victims to waive their rights to an investigation.

Anne Arundel County spokesman Chris Trumbauer tells The Capital that Police Chief Timothy J. Altomare was told Tuesday to end the practice. The move follows a Baltimore Sun report and survey on the practice.

The Sun reported Tuesday that Baltimore-area police departments prompted sexual assault victims to waive investigation rights more than 200 times in 2018 and 2017. It said the practice went against guidance from experts and from the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Trumbauer says Anne Arundel County police have used the waivers for at least two decades. Baltimore County police have also said they’re ending the practice.